Haryana’s department of town and country planning (DTCP) has decided to conduct structural audits of five residential societies in Gurugram. These include Raheja Developers’ projects Vedaanta and Atharva in sectors 108 and 109, respectively, Brisk Lumbini in Sector 109, M3M Woodshire in Sector 107 and Mahindra Aura in Sector 110 A.
The move comes in the wake of a portion of the sixth floor in a tower in Chintels Paradiso in Sector 109 collapsing all the way to the first floor, killing two people.
“It is a good step which Vedaanta society owners have been seeking since 2018 at various levels. It is too sad that the government authorities have woken up after loss of life in Chintels Paradiso,” said Aditya Prasad Tiwari, a resident of Raheja Vedaanta.
Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar had on February 10 directed the DTCP to identify all residential buildings where residents’ welfare associations (RWAs) had reported structural damage and initiate safety audits.
In a letter dated February 23, S K Sehrawat, district town planner (HQ), town and country planning, Haryana, Chandigarh, told the senior town planner, Gurugram, “Keeping in view, the seriousness of the matter…it has been decided to get the structural stability, quality of construction which includes use of material in required ratio, quality of steel used and quality of other material used etc. of the towers mentioned in the above colonies from IIT Roorkee on urgent basis on the same pattern as being done by IIT Delhi in Chintels Paradiso, Sector 109, Gururgram.”
After the collapse of multiple floors at Chintels Paradiso, residents of various other societies in the vicinity are worried about the wellbeing of their families, as they allege that the construction quality and materials used by developers are substandard.
According to the survey by Dwarka Expressway Welfare Association, as many as 80 societies have complaints related to construction quality and condition of buildings. They requested the Haryana government to conduct structural audits at the earliest and undertake necessary repairs and rectifications.
“The audit team will also flag any other issues of stability of structure or quality of material noticed and suggest measures to cure any defect. The structural audit will be held on the cost of the respective developer,” Sehrawat said in the letter.
However, homebuyers say fee collection from developers should not hold up the audit. “Payment from the developer for the audit should not delay the process. We need to quickly know how big the risks are. This is just the first step,” said Gaurav Prakash, a resident of Brisk Lumbini.
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